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Gaza Flotilla Update: U.K. Journalist Details "Torturous Conditions" in Israeli Custody

2025-10-06 News & Politics
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Democracy Now!
Democracy Now!
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Global Sumud Flotilla Activists Report Torture and Mistreatment in Israeli Custody

Hundreds of international activists face deportation and describe severe abuse, including withheld medicine and physical assault, after Israel raided the Global Sumud Flotilla attempting to break the Gaza siege.

Short Summary

  • At least 170 arrested flotilla activists have been deported after describing torture and mistreatment during Israeli custody.
  • Detainees suffered systematic medical neglect, physical abuse, including being forced to kneel for hours, and severe hygiene deprivations.
  • Prior to interception, US intelligence reportedly confirmed Israeli leadership approved drone strikes on flotilla vessels, leading to potential war crime accusations.

This report focuses on the harrowing accounts of activists deported from Israeli custody after the Global Sumud Flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli military. The experiences shared highlight extreme mistreatment, focusing on medical deprivation and physical coercion, which experts suggest may constitute war crimes.

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Description

Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt Global condemnation is mounting as hundreds of international activists remain in Israeli prison days after Israel's military raided and captured dozens of boats in the Global Sumud Flotilla. Reuters reports at least 170 flotilla activists, of the more than 400 arrested, have been deported from Israel. Many have described torture and mistreatment in Israeli custody. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg told Swedish officials she was held in a cell infested with bedbugs and deprived of food and water. Turkish activist Ersin Çelik told the Anadolu news agency that guards had "dragged little Greta by her hair before our eyes, beat her, and forced her to kiss the Israeli flag." Kieran Andrieu is a British Palestinian journalist who was recently deported to Britain after being detained aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla. Andrieu says that activists faced torturous conditions in Israeli prisons. "They were throwing people's medicine in the bin in front of them and laughing in their faces," he says. "They were totally and utterly insensitive to the possibilities of any of us dying." Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET. Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe

Top Comments (10)

@bobbygabriel9574 2025-10-06

Just imagine what the Palestinians go through when detained.

338 82 replies
@TheCjbowman 2025-10-06

It amazes me what they can get away with - just zero accountability.

293 33 replies
@aynos629 2025-10-06

Not to give insuline to a diabetic is diabolical.

252 79 replies
@theskeeboo 2025-10-06

Absolute monsters. The world will not forget.

183 21 replies
@KAZVorpal 2025-10-06

Boarding and abducting you in international waters is known as: Piracy. And that's how the world should treat it.

120 34 replies
@BeHelpfulNotHurtful 2025-10-06

Seizures have the risk of killing brain cells every time.

120 26 replies
@chloeturnbow3826 2025-10-06

WHERE IS GREG J STOKER WHERE IS THE SHIP OF AMERICAN VETERANS THE OHWAYLA???

81 15 replies
@aldid45 2025-10-06

Nothing, nothing about this is on Western media.

72 7 replies
@aynos629 2025-10-06

Where are the Irish and Scottish activists?, hearing nothing from them. And reading that Yvonne Ridley is nowhere to be found if that is possible

64 31 replies
@tm75_88 2025-10-06

Thank you Democracy Now, from an Italian Catholic 🙏 Here in Italy the silence of media is thunderous .....no mention of any account from the kidnapped ones, not a single appearance in any TV program

42 5 replies

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